# When Do Men Start Getting Hair on Their Chests **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 25, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587 "2008-05-25T19:50:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iturntoyou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e36b37/32.png) [@iturntoyou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iturntoyou)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/1 "2008-05-25T19:50:57Z")
A new program aimed at teens (16-19) was started at my gym and I noticed how “groomed” the boys are. I got to wondering at what age do boys start growing hair on their chest. I realize not every man has a hairy chest, but I was wondering as the trend now a days is to shave everything. These kids seem to have very little hair and what is there (eyebrows, underarms, legs) is definately trimmed. But manscaping in teens is another thread LOL, I was just wondering about the hairy chest part, at what age? When I was a girl I don’t recall seeing any boys in my high school with a hairy chest, so does it come later on after the teen years? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/2 "2008-05-25T20:17:06Z")
Chest hair generally appears (if it is going to) during Tanner stage IV development. Average age for that is 13-15 years in males, but there’s a lot of variability. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/3 "2008-05-25T20:23:21Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Chest hair generally appears (if it is going to) during Tanner stage IV development. Average age for that is 13-15 years in males, but there’s a lot of variability. [/QUOTE] About right for me. Only a strip down the center and some around the nipples. It drives the women wild. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/4 "2008-05-25T20:50:37Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Chest hair generally appears (if it is going to) during Tanner stage IV development. Average age for that is 13-15 years in males, but there’s a lot of variability. [/QUOTE] I don’t know if I’m a freak or not, but while this might be technically true in that I got my first whispers of hair around that age, I wouldn’t say that I (or many people I’d notice at that age) had “chest hair” until closer to 18-20. On me it grew in slowly, not in a big surge like other things and wasn’t noticeable from across a room until maybe 4 or 5 years after the first sign. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/5 "2008-05-25T20:57:33Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Chest hair generally appears (if it is going to) during Tanner stage IV development. Average age for that is 13-15 years in males, but there’s a lot of variability. [/QUOTE] That’s about when I started getting mine. By 18 I had back hair too. It’s genetic. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/6 "2008-05-25T21:04:46Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] I don’t know if I’m a freak or not, but while this might be technically true in that I got my first whispers of hair around that age, I wouldn’t say that I (or many people I’d notice at that age) had “chest hair” until closer to 18-20. On me it grew in slowly, not in a big surge like other things and wasn’t noticeable from across a room until maybe 4 or 5 years after the first sign. [/QUOTE] This is pretty much my story. I’m 25 now and it seems like my chest hair has just stopped filling in. Then again, my facial hair didn’t fill in completely until I was about 22 or 23 either, though. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/7 "2008-05-25T23:35:24Z")
I got my first chest hair at 13 but it was literally one, the rest followed by the time I was about 16 IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/8 "2008-05-25T23:45:00Z")
My husband is getting hairier over the years. When we first got together he was 29/30 and had a regular amount of chest hair but now at 46 there’s a LOT more. And more leg hair, and his eyebrows and nose hair is starting to get out of control! Why is that? My dad mourned the loss of his head hair and said it was all migrating to his chest, and that was in his 50’s and 60’s. Do most men go on getting hairier? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/9 "2008-05-25T23:48:47Z")
40+ year old Ivylad has a nice smooth hairless chest. Mmmmmm… On an interesting side note, he can’t grow a beard or moustache to save his soul. It just comes in scruffy and uneven and takes forever to grow. I suppose there’s a correlation? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/10 "2008-05-26T00:13:20Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Chest hair generally appears (if it is going to) during Tanner stage IV development. Average age for that is 13-15 years in males, but there’s a lot of variability. [/QUOTE] Yeah.. but there’s a huge gap and appearance difference between “appear” and “filled in”. I’d say most men don’t get their full chest until sometime in their early to mid twenties. I had chest hair at 18, but was considerably more filled in by my early 20’s. For whatever reason it also seems to grow faster the older I get. I have to keep it trimmed down more often than I did when i was younger. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/11 "2008-05-26T00:24:03Z")
I’m 25 and barely have any chest hair. I’m hoping things stay this way. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/12 "2008-05-26T00:27:19Z")
[QUOTE=astro] Yeah.. but there’s a huge gap and appearance difference between “appear” and “filled in”. I’d say most men don’t get their full chest until sometime in their early to mid twenties. I had chest hair at 18, but was considerably more filled in by my early 20’s. For whatever reason it also seems to grow faster the older I get. I have to keep it trimmed down more often than I did when i was younger. [/QUOTE] My chest looks like I’m wearing a brown shag carpet. You trim yours? I always wanted to, but was afraid of the itchies. ---
**Author:** ![Omegaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e480ec/32.png) [@Omegaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omegaman)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/13 "2008-05-26T00:29:07Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] This is pretty much my story. I’m 25 now and it seems like my chest hair has just stopped filling in. Then again, my facial hair didn’t fill in completely until I was about 22 or 23 either, though. [/QUOTE] Damn! You’re doing pretty good to have your kind of ride. At twenty five I had a 77 Lincoln towncar. You know, opera windows and rear wheel skirts. It was clean so I had delusions of grandeur. 😃 Got in a lot of trouble in that car. You need any thing you think I can help you with for yours you let me know. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/14 "2008-05-26T00:36:04Z")
[QUOTE=DudleyGarrett] My chest looks like I’m wearing a brown shag carpet. You trim yours? I always wanted to, but was afraid of the itchies. [/QUOTE] If you go down to nothing it will itch. When it starts to get puffy and tickle my chin I use a clipper and mow it all down to about 1/2 an inch or so. You need to be careful and keep the clipper contoured to your body so you don’t get bare spots. It doesn’t itch at that length. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/15 "2008-05-26T01:03:19Z")
[QUOTE=Omegaman] [QUOTE=Santo Rugger] This is pretty much my story. I’m 25 now and it seems like my chest hair has just stopped filling in. Then again, my facial hair didn’t fill in completely until I was about 22 or 23 either, though. [/quote] Damn! You’re doing pretty good to have your kind of ride. At twenty five I had a 77 Lincoln towncar. You know, opera windows and rear wheel skirts. It was clean so I had delusions of grandeur. 😃 Got in a lot of trouble in that car. You need any thing you think I can help you with for yours you let me know. [/QUOTE] I’m confused. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/16 "2008-05-26T01:43:24Z")
[QUOTE=qwest] I’m confused. [/QUOTE] What’s confusing? Santo’s plush chest gives a woman a ride as smooth as a 77 Lincoln. ---
**Author:** ![chicken\_wire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@chicken\_wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicken_wire)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/17 "2008-05-26T02:46:45Z")
[QUOTE=iturntoyou] I got to wondering at what age do boys start growing hair on their chest. [/QUOTE] Here, drink this. ::Passes **iturntoyou** a large mug of sinister, steaming liquid:: That’ll put hair on your chest! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/18 "2008-05-26T07:17:15Z")
One boyfriend I started dating when he was 18, and he had no chest hair… we dated again 12 years later and by then his chest hair had grown in. Another boyfriend I also started dating when he was 18, and he had a little bit of chest hair at first, but it didn’t really begin filling in until he was 21-22-ish. So in my experience, it doesn’t start “filling in” until the early 20s. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/19 "2008-05-26T10:49:27Z")
For those that wish to remove chest/back/shoulder hair and don’t want it to itch I recommend hair removal cream (nair/veet). It’s very quick, doesn’t hurt and the hair grows back weaker each time you do it so if you’re doing it regularly you don’t have to do it so much anyway. I use it every three months or so, takes me about half an hour and a couple of showers. It doesn’t itch when it comes back. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587/20 "2008-05-26T11:35:51Z")
I’m 46 and still waiting for mine… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-do-men-start-getting-hair-on-their-chests/450587.md?page=2)